There may be messages and meanings all around us that we might take as signs. That is all well and good as long as we respond to signs with discrimination (viveka) and do not use signs, be they in the stars or elsewhere, as excuses to abdicate responsibility for our choices.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
The fresh, lovely green of new leaves emerging is the green of the anahata chakra–the chakra of the heart, midway between that of earth and sky, where in meditation we can open to experience the intertwinedness (yes, I know that is not a “real” word) of matter and spirit.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
As I write, big fat flakes of snow are falling against a pale gray sky that is struggling to turn to daylight. It is too early to know how much of the storm will be snow or freezing rain or just plain rain, though all are both possible and probable. If there is mostly snow or mostly rain, some of those I know will be sure to say the weather forecast is never right. My experience is that the weather forecasters are usually quite accurate about pointing out the probabilities and then sometimes the probabilities at the far end of the spectrum are the ones that happen, which makes the forecast apparently off the mark.
I am always entranced with the anticipation of a storm. It only takes the slightest shift in temperature in the atmosphere or a move of a degree or two of the pressure system for there to be a dramatic change in the outcome — a day of rain or a half an inch of ice or several inches of snow. I think all relationships — to places, jobs, people, illnesses, our meditation practices are like that. Just the subtlest shifts in atmosphere and attitude and the whole thing can seem completely different. What I continue to work on is to open to the best path that results from the combination of factors. If because of a less than optimal shift, there is an ice storm with power outages and downed wires and trees, then I try to learn why it happened, see the beauty, and try to shift in a better way. It is hard, and I do not always succeed, but I continue to make the effort.
I remember my first big icestorm. I was in high school and at a big party a few miles from my parents house. We were teenagers and mostly oblivious. We just thought it was raining and continued partying. At some point, we realized that everything was coated with ice, and then we needed to start calling on help to get home. It was disappointing to have the party end prematurely, but very exciting to have the wild and unusual weather. And the next morning, when the temperature dropped and the sun came out, the whole world glittered.
Friends and acquaintances ask me whether I am teaching yoga. My answer is that I do it when asked. Last week, I offered a “release” practice for a friend who is still having hot flashes many years after their final menstrual cycle. I said, it helped me, when I suddenly overheated, to think of offering something that no longer served, into the fire pit of the goddess to transmute into energy and light.
Today I offered some asana practice-inspired tips to any older friend to help with getting up and down off the floor.
What in your current stage of embodiment are you interested in practicing and deepening your awareness and understanding?
If only to have something like this said of my work.
